I’m off to YNP on a bright sunny morning. It’s a chilly 25 degrees with a forecast to warm up to the 40’s.

There is very little snow to see along the pass. Only the tops of the mountains and the highest slopes are white.

As I approach Gardiner, a pair of sandhills fly across the road. A sign of spring to come! I see two dozen elk grazing near airport.

I stop at the Market and find a text from Laurie. She and Dan are in a pullout on the OGR, with wolves in view above McMinn bench.

At the Entrance Gate I note the presence of some pronghorn, just as they were in February. The low amount of snow has allowed them to remain here all winter.

In a high pullout above Boiling Springs I find Laurie, Dan, Sian and Jeff. It’s great to start a trip this way, sharing a wolf sighting with dear friends.

They direct me to look to the northwest, very far away, on the left side of a conical hill in the Rattlesnake Butte area.

Eventually I see seven wolves; three black and four gray. Laurie says they had more in view earlier; in fact, a dozen. I see birds in the area, confirming the likely existence of a carcass. These are Eight Mile wolves.

I also see elk, some bedded and a small group bunched up. A few of the wolves are half-heartedly stalking them. They are not really hunting, since they just ate, but these are likely young wolves, getting in some practice.

The stalkers give up and head back to the carcass for another meal. The sky above them has turned a crystal-clear shade of blue.

After a bit, I follow Laurie & Dan to the east.

At Confluence I stop for a brief chat with former Loon friend Ballpark Frank. He is back in Bozeman, still leading hikes now and again.

I get go on to Silver Gate, where I unload and help Laurie prepare a tasty dinner. We stay in this evening and have a nice catch-up conversation.

Today I saw: bison, two sandhill cranes, elk, pronghorn, ravens, bighorn sheep, 7 Eight Mile wolves and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.